With recent news regarding the adoption of Tesla’s NACS trending around the US, it’s no surprise that EVgo plans to expand NACS options as well. The EVgo fast charging network has announced that it will be adding Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) connectors to its fast charging network across the country.

The company might be considered one of the first movers regarding the NACS, as it has already deployed roughly 600 integrated Tesla connectors at some of its 900+ charging stations in the United States. However, those integrated connectors, installed between 2020 and 2021, were essentially Tesla CHAdeMO adapters integrated with the chargers and limited to only 50 kilowatts.

Tesla charging options with EVgo.

Now, as Tesla is opening its in-house developed proprietary charging connector (which will be adopted by Ford and General Motors within the next two years, as well as potentially by other electric vehicle manufacturers), EVgo intends to improve access to the NACS charging solution by installing more of these chargers alongside existing CCS combo units (CCS1) or the older CHAdeMO units.

The announcement issued on June 12 does not contain specific information about how many EVgo NACS chargers might be installed. Still, we can be pretty sure that we are talking about a very high number, simply because that by having NACS-compatible chargers, EVgo gets access to the entire Tesla EV fleet (excluding the legacy Tesla Roadster model). Tesla holds more than 60 percent of the market share of all-electric cars in the US, which means that the majority of electric cars in the country are NACS-compatible. If all stations were natively compatible with NACS, the network would virtually double its customer base overnight.

Unfortunately, it’s not clear when charging networks like EVgo will be able to purchase NACS-compatible chargers (from Tesla or other manufacturers).  But with increased EVgo NACS offerings in the works, we hope that the supply chain will soon become clear.

Cathy Zoi, CEO of EVgo, commented:

“EVgo first deployed integrated Tesla connectors in 2020, and with the recently announced expansion of the number of automakers using the NACS connector, we are excited to announce that we will also be integrating NACS connectors on the EVgo network in future deployments as well as on some existing chargers. As a first mover in EV charging, EVgo has a history of delivering for all EV drivers, evolving from CHAdeMO only to CHAdeMO and CCS, and now CHAdeMO, CCS, and NACS through both integrated connectors and Tesla to CCS adapters. We believe these developments will help to accelerate EV adoption rates and sales, which in turn will spur throughput growth on EVgo’s network.”

“With the shift to EV ubiquity underway, growing demand for charging means there will need to be hundreds of thousands of new fast chargers deployed in the US over the next decade, and we know that customers select chargers based on location, convenience, and ease of use. That is why EVgo prioritizes the deployment of technology like Autocharge+, EVgo RewardsTM and Reservations, and more, so that EV drivers can quickly, reliably, and conveniently charge their vehicles no matter which plug they use. With EVgo RenewTM underway and ongoing, we will also assess which future upgrades or replacements can include a NACS connector as well.”

“EVgo’s long-term success is directly tied to EV adoption at scale, our fantastic partnerships, and our continued technology leadership. All of our automaker partnerships continue apace, and the dozens of new electric vehicle models coming to market in combination with the expansion of access to charging for NACS and CCS vehicles will help take us even closer to making our vision of Electric for All a reality.”

Tesla users currently have several options to charge at EVgo or other fast charging networks than the Tesla Supercharging network in North America, including:

• CHAdeMO to Tesla adapter (up to 50 kW)
• Tesla CCS Combo 1 adapter (up to 250 kW)
• Integrated Tesla connector (EVgo only and only up to 50 kW)
• SAE J1772 charging adapter (only AC charging)